### 38

You take a seat in a vacant booth located near the front door. Having settled yourself down on the comfortably padded bench seat, you retrieve a Meal from your Backpack and quietly consume it while you observe Anseng and the innkeeper conversing at the counter. (Remember to erase this Meal from your Action Chart).

As you finish your food, a ripple of applause among the patrons draws your attention to a curtained archway in the far wall. The curtain is draw aside and a troupe of entertainers files into the taproom, smiling with gratitude at the warm reception. They have performed for the patrons earlier this evening and now they return for their final performance of the night. From snippets of conversation you overhear, you learn that the entertainers are a band of travelling troubadours who come from the city of Durwan in Lissan. They are on their way back to their native city after having performed in several taverns and inns of Pensei. The musicians begin to play a lively tune and a trio of pretty dancing girls whirl and twirl around the taproom to the delight of the patrons. One of the girls is wearing a tight-fitting red silk dress, and she glances repeatedly in your direction as she gyrates around the room. It appears that she has taken a special interest in you.

When the performance comes to a close, the patrons give a loud cheer and the girls pass among them collecting donations of Ren from the appreciative audience. After the money has been gathered up, the troubadours thank the Chai for their generosity and leave the taproom by way of the curtained archway. A few minutes later, the girl in the red silk dress reappears. With a charming smile, she comes and sits opposite you at your table. She tells you her name is Rakhi and says she has never seen anyone quite like you before. She asks if you are a Northlander. Your senses detect that she is genuinely friendly and does not intend to do you any harm. You reply that you are indeed a Northlander, but you refrain from telling her exactly which realm of the Northlands you hail from. ‘I thought so,’ she beams, joyfully. ‘I have something that may be of interest to you.’

She places a velvet satchel on the table and flips it open. It contains four ceramic phials, each one stoppered with a cork and carefully labelled and priced. She invites you to inspect them and gives an assurance that they are all genuine potions.

- Laumspur (will restore 4 ENDURANCE points when swallowed after combat): 50 Ren / 5 Gold Crowns
- Tazheng (a powerful anti-venom): 60 Ren / 6 Gold Crowns
- Tincture of Sabito root (rare in this part of Magnamund, Sabito enables the human body to extract oxygen from water through the skin, thus permitting anyone who swallows it to ‘breathe’ underwater): 80 Ren / 8 Gold Crowns
- Karmo: 120 Ren (12 Gold Crowns). When taken before combat, this potion doubles your ENDURANCE points score for the duration of the combat. It has heavy side effects that sometimes can result in death. After consuming Karmo, you must pick a number from the Random Number Table. The number you choose determines how many ENDURANCE points you lose as a consequence of the side effects (0 = zero).

You may purchase any or all of these potions for the price indicated. If you wish to make a purchase, remember to adjust your Action Chart accordingly. These potions are all Backpack Items.

To continue, turn to 144.